moot
moot Lexical Profile
moot Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
North American Having little or no practical relevance, typically because the subject is too uncertain to allow a decision or has already been decided or superseded.
"Once the rival company withdrew its bid, our concerns about a hostile takeover became moot."
Subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty, and typically not admitting of a final decision.
"Whether the new policy will actually improve employee retention remains a moot question."
• verb
British To raise (a question or topic) for discussion; to suggest an idea or possibility.
"The proposal to pedestrianize the city center was first mooted by the council over a decade ago."
• noun
A mock judicial proceeding set up to examine a hypothetical case as an academic exercise among law students.
"First-year law students are required to participate in at least one moot before graduation."
An assembly held for debate or legislative governance, especially in Anglo-Saxon and medieval history.
"In Anglo-Saxon England, local freemen gathered at the shire moot to settle territorial disputes."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British English, 'moot' typically means open to debate or unresolved, whereas in American English it more commonly means having no practical relevance (as in 'a moot point'). It is also frequently confused with 'mute' in the mistaken phrase 'a mute point.'
• Rhymes for moot
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'gemōt' (meeting or assembly), where legal and community matters were debated; the modern sense evolved through law students arguing hypothetical 'moot' cases that were open to debate but lacked real-world legal effect.